Category Archives: Asia

2018 has been declared the ‘Year of the Bird’. This is a collaborative effort between National Geographic, National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, BirdLife International, and several other organizations, and marks 100 years since the signing of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This American federal law from 1918 makes it illegal to hunt/kill, capture or sell migratory birds, and over 800 species are included in this list.

As far I am concerned, every year is the ‘Year of the Bird’! Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time in the state of Assam in northeast India, and got to see many bird species for the very first time. Given that nearly a third of Assam’s geographical area is covered by forests, it is no surprise that the state has the highest bird diversity in India, with over 800 recorded species.

Visiting different villages with members of ‘the ant’ team meant that I got to see a lot of birdlife en route, as well as in the villages. But on most occasions I didn’t have my ‘birdie cam’ (Nikon Coolpix P900) with me and so, sadly, there are no photographs of the hornbill I glimpsed while traveling on bike from one village to another, the beeaters and other species of passerine birds that lined-up neatly on power cables, the colourful kingfishers near the rivulet, the distinctive-looking Hoopoe, the Rufous Treepie and several more species whose names I have yet to figure out.

I did however, manage to photograph a few common birds around ‘the ant’ campus. Here are some of them:

The colourful Blue-eared Barbet

A Crested Serpent Eagle seated on an electricity pole

A Chestnut-tailed Starling

The super-noisy Jungle Babbler! You will hear it long before you see it!

An Indian Roller preening itself

A male White-Rumped Shama

The Black Drongo does a great service to farmers by feeding on insects & pests

A White Wagtail (‘baicalensis’ sub-species) – several species / subspecies of wagtails are winter migrants to Assam

A Cinereous Tit

The ubiquitous Red-vented Bulbul

Cattle Egret – As the name suggests, this bird usually accompanies large, grazing animals like cattle.

The picture is out of focus but you can tell why this bird called a ‘Slender-billed’ Oriole

During my time in Lower Assam, I made one quick visit to Manas National Park and saw a few more birds there as well (blog post on Manas coming soon).

I’m confident my recent trip to Assam was the first of many to come, and I can’t wait to add to this list of birds. Stay tuned!

Think back to the last time you had a paper cut. Painful, right?! Or got punched in the face by a bully. Now imagine a lifetime of such pain and abuse – relentless, day in day out, and a million times worse. That is the life of a captive elephant.

So while that elephant ride may seem innocuous, the reality behind how the elephant got there, is anything but.

Taken from the wild at a very young age, tortured into submission by a horrendous ‘breaking of the spirit’ process (which involves beatings, starvation, confinement and other forms of subjugation), and then for decades – chained, forced to work, poked and prodded with sharp hooks, blinded even sometimes. The elephants suffer grievous injuries on their spines from carrying people, on their legs from being constantly chained, on their feet from walking on hard terrain (like concrete / tarred roads), not to forget the emotional and mental trauma. These magnificent creatures have no escape till the day they drop dead.

Some of the tools used by handlers to control elephants

The Asian elephant is listed as ‘Endangered’ by IUCN. Yet an estimated 16,000 elephants are in captivity across 11 Asian countries; of which about 3,500 are in India alone.

I recently visited Wildlife SOS (WSOS), an absolutely remarkable non-profit in India that rescues and rehabilitates captive elephants. I had met the WSOS founders, Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta Seshamani, way back in 2014, and was in awe of the fact that they had rescued every single ‘dancing bear’ (over 620 in all) from the streets of India. In this 400-year old barbaric practice, sloth bear cubs were snatched from the wild and their muzzles pierced with a hot metal rod (without anesthesia), to insert the control rope, and their wounds were not allowed to heal. When the handler tugged the control rope, it would cause an insane amount of pain to the bear, making it writhe in pain, which was seen as ‘dancing’. In addition to rescuing the bears, WSOS also rehabilitated the owners of the bears – a nomadic community known as kalandars. They were provided with monetary support, alternative skills training, as well as education for their children, in exchange for a written promise that they would not indulge in the trade again. This holistic approach, along with the herculean efforts involved, lead to the surrender of the last ‘dancing bear’ in 2009 and the practice was completely eliminated in India.

The rescued bears are housed and cared for in 4 different centres across India, the largest one being in Agra. So whenever you plan to visit the Taj Mahal, I highly recommend that you add the WSOS Agra Bear Rescue Facility (ABRF) to your itinerary. I could spend forever watching the antics of those adorable bears!

Kajal, a rescued bear at ABRF, enjoying a snooze in the sun

Chottu relishing the honey his caretaker has smeared at the very top of his ‘enrichment platform’

Back to elephants! During my visit to the WSOS Elephant Care and Conservation Centre (ECCC) in Mathura, not too far from Delhi/Agra, I got to spend time with the rescued elephants housed there. The elephants are extremely well looked after, and what is truly commendable are the efforts made by the WSOS team to understand the personality and likes-dislikes of each elephant, in order to make them as comfortable as possible.

Do not disturb! It’s sugarcane time!

I loved every second of my time at the ECCC – the walks with the elephants, the feeding sessions, watching them play with their enrichment toys and how they interacted in their small groups. This experience was (once again!) a reminder of the fact these animals possess an incredible intelligence, that we as humans need to learn to respect.

Phoolkali (in front) & Maya, two of the several elephants rescued by WSOS, out for their daily evening walk

I often wondered what the elephants were thinking or what they could remember of their horrible past

These elephants still bear the scars (both physical and mental) of their decades in captivity but now thanks to WSOS, they will live out their lives being free, and just being elephants! ❤️

Bijli (L), Chanchal & Laxmi (R) enjoying their time together

Tourist demand for riding elephants is a major contributing factor to elephant captivity. There’s a lot we can do to change the situation:

Don’t support elephant captivity in any form – don’t ride them anywhere or watch them in a circus or feed a begging elephant. The same holds true for all other wild animals as well.

Createawareness: Use every opportunity on social media (or any other form of media) to speak up for elephants and other captive animals

Volunteer: Organizations like WSOS welcome volunteers. If you love working with animals, especially elephants, this is an experience you will never forget! At WSOS, you can also divide your time between the ECCC and ABRF. Read more here http://wildlifesos.org/volunteer-with-us/

If you’ve visited an organization that rescues captive elephants (or any captive wildlife for that matter), please leave me a comment with your experience. I would love to visit them someday 🙏🙏🙏

South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony (1950-2012) in his book ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ said “…..until we allow not only elephants, but all living creatures their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves.” Amen to that!

Growing up in the western suburbs of Bombay (now Mumbai), the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) was the venue of my annual school picnic for many an academic year. But despite the yearly visit to the park and its proximity to my parents’ home, I had no inkling about the ecological value of this ‘national park’, till very recently.

Map of the SGNP

As one of the few national parks in the world located within city limits. I’ve been told SGNP is 35 times the area of NYC‘s Central Park. But the comparison is quite unfair – the former is a naturally occurring forest, the latter a man-made park. But I digress!

In a space-starved city like Mumbai, the SGNP is a refuge for the city’s inhabitants. You have to be at the entrance gate at 6am to see the incredible number of people who use the park for their morning run/walk or simply just to socialize.

Having lived away from India at a stretch of nearly 7 years now, every trip back to Mumbai has included a quick visit to the forests of SGNP. Home to nearly 600 species of fauna and over 1,300 species of flora, SGNP is best visited in the monsoons when the foliage is lush, the streams are gushing and the verdant hillsides are streaked with small waterfalls. Sadly, most of my recent visits to the SGNP have been in the last quarter of the year, when the forest is dry and appears sparse as compared to its monsoon avatar.

The most remarkable aspect of the SGNP is that it has the highest leopard / carnivore density anywhere in the world (40 individuals in an area of 104 sq.kms.), in a city that also has one of the highest human population densities in the world. This unique cohabitation of humans and a big cat species, has garnered a fair bit of international attention, including that of the hallowed National Geographic, which thankfully has helped the leopard’s cause.

I’d be ecstatic if I spotted a leopard (from a reasonable distance of course!) but the creatures being nocturnal in their habits, are impossible to spot during the day. I’ve had to make do with leopard droppings and their pee markings, along some of the trails I’ve visited in the park.

A section of the Bamboo Hut Trail, which stretches about 12kms (start to finish)

Also within the SGNP limits are the Kanheri Caves, a spartan (yet stunning!) cluster of Buddhist rock-cut caves, some which date back to the mid-3rd century BCE. There are a 100+ of these caves and the exact number differs based on which source you refer to. However, all sources agree on the fact that the name ‘Kanheri’ comes from the Sanskrit word Krishnagiri, meaning ‘black mountain’, alluding to the basalt mountain from which the caves are carved. Once a major Buddhist centre, the complex is a protected archeological site today. Best visited with a knowledgeable guide.

The forests of SGNP also support two (of seven) lakes that provide potable water to Mumbai – Tulsi Lake (completed in 1897) and Vihar Lake (completed in 1860). The forests serve as a catchment area for these two lakes and play a crucial role in ensuring water supply to the city.

View of Tulsi Lake (in the foreground) and Vihar Lake (partially visible in the background)

Both lakes can be clearly seen from Jambulmal, the highest point not just in SGNP but also in the entire city, located 468 meters (1535 ft) above sea level. Given the key role the lakes play in the city’s water supply, direct access to them is restricted and requires special permission.

The SGNP is revered as the ‘green lung’ of Mumbai. However, it is no match for the rapid development in this bustling metropolis. Hopefully, Mumbai’s citizenry will continue to value this last vestige of forest, and preserve the city’s fragile and last remaining connection to nature.

View of the concrete jungle beyond park limits

I leave you with a few pictures of the fauna I’ve seen along the Shilonda and Bamboo Hut trails of the SGNP……

A Green Bee-eater enjoys the sun

A male Purple-rumped Sunbird, a species endemic to the Indian subcontinent

A Long-tailed (Rufous-backed) Shrike

A female Chestnut-shouldered Petronia, also known as the Yellow-throated Sparrow

The Southern Plains Gray Langur, known locally as the Hanuman Langur

A handsome male Chital, also known as the Spotted or Axis Deer. The metre-long antlers are shed (and re-emerge) annually.

A Brahminy Skink (also known as the Keeled Grass Skink) hidden in the foliage…

The nest of the Crematogaster Ant (made with dry leaves, saliva and mud) resembles a pagoda and is hence called a ‘pagoda ant nest’

The maze-like exterior of the Harvester Ant nest prevents the entry of water into the dwelling

My Dehene village guide, Raksha, is a remarkable young girl in her late teens. She could barely contain her excitement as she lead me to the spot outside the village, where peafowls from the nearby forest aggregate every morning. For me, as a birdwatching enthusiast, that would have been ‘the’ spectacle to witness!

Rural experiences like these, have been made possible by a Mumbai-based social enterprise and responsible travel company – Grassroutes. Dehene is one of several villages that Grassroutes works with as part of their rural tourism program.

A mist-covered section of the Western Ghats, as seen from Dehene

An idyllic village at the foothills of the Sahayadri mountains in the Maharashtra state of India, Dehene is located a mere 120kms from Mumbai. During off-peak hours, it could take anywhere between 3.5 to 4 hours (approx) to get there by car, from the city.

Rice fields….

An estimated 70% of India’s 1.23 billion population lives in rural settings and a majority of this rural population is well below the poverty line. The affliation between Grassroutes and Dehene village has created several livelihood opportunities for the villagers – many people in the main village have received training as guides (like young Raksha) and several households are involved in some way with the rural experiences that Grassroutes offers in the village (for e.g homestay hosts, meal preparation etc). This arrangement has enabled the villagers to supplement their agricultural income, and to a large extent, has addressed their need to migrate to cities for work.

This ‘aaji’ (grandmother) demonstrated how rice is pounded, winnowed, ground and ultimately, made into a ‘bhakri’ (a type of unleavened bread)

There are about 40 Hindu Maratha houses in the main village and the nearby tribal settlement consists of nearly 500 households.

Path to the tribal settlement of Dehene village

Furthermore, for every tourist visiting Dehene, Grassroutes contributes a specific amount to the village kitty, to be used strictly for welfare initiatives. Grassroutes implements a similar model in all of the villages it works with.

As for me, having lived away from India for almost a decade (I was born and raised in Bombay, now Mumbai), every trip back is an opportunity for me to learn more about the country of my birth. This day-trip to Dehene turned out to be a great initiation to rural India.

We met this friendly tribal lady en route to the forest. Her herd of cows were grazing nearby….

There couldn’t have been a better time to visit Dehene. The southwest monsoon was working its magic on the village, and the hills beyond were bursting with every imaginable shade of green. Dehene is often referred to as the ‘Land of a 1000 waterfalls’ as these mountains are streaked with a multitude of streams gushing down its slopes.

Greenery everywhere you look….

It is heartwarming to see people living in such close harmony with nature. The villagers recognise the nutritional or medicinal value of ‘wild’ plants, build houses with available natural materials, make disposable plates/bowls by stitching-up dried leaves, and so much more. Solutions to so many of our urban problems lie in studying the environmentally-friendly lifestyles of our rural counterparts.

Communal lunch at the temple, served in a disposable plate made of dried leaves stitched together

To experience Dehene in a leisurely manner, I would highly recommend an overnight stay. Sadly, I was there only for the day. So no photograph of peafowls for me! 😦

As the old adage goes, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’. I leave you with these images from my brief (but extremely memorable) time in Dehene village…..

Up until a few months ago, I was living in sunny Singapore. Since then, I have moved continents, to the land of canals and krokets, Amsterdam, and find myself trying to make sense of a very fickle spring.

When I think about my time in the Little Red Dot, I’m happy I was able to capture different facets of the city, via my articles for PASSAGE, the bimonthly magazine of the Friends of the Museums Singapore. So here is, the last of these nuggets from the city I called home for nearly 6 years.

My article in the May-June’17 issue of PASSAGE encapsulates my many wonderful memories of the MacRitchie Reservoir Park in Singapore. Please click on the image below to view the PDF of this article.

(Reproduced with the permission of the Editor.)

I’d like to reiterate that when visiting any nature reserve/park, please be extremely respectful of the environment. Loud chatting or music will disturb wildlife and ruin any chance of spotting them. Going off-trail to get a picture damages the ecosystem that nurtures these species. As the old saying goes…

I was reminded by a fellow-nature lover that today, March 3rd, is World Wildlife Day. So the timing of this post couldn’t be any better! 🙂

Following my much loved blog post on Pasir Ris Park, I had the opportunity to share some of the pictures once again via a photo feature in the Mar-Apr’17 issue of PASSAGE, the bimonthly magazine of the Friends of the Museums Singapore. Please click on the image below to view the PDF of this article.

(Reproduced with the permission of the Editor.)

Once again, I’d like to emphasize that when visiting any nature reserve/park, please be extremely respectful of the environment. Loud chatting or music will disturb creatures and ruin any chance of spotting them. Going off-trail to get a picture damages the ecosystem that nurtures these species. As the old saying goes…

After six wonderful years in Singapore, the hubs and I recently moved to Amsterdam. I couldn’t have offered a better farewell tribute to Singapore than this 12-page feature in the Mar’17 issue ofHolland Herald, the inflight magazine of KLM airlines.

First published on 21st January 1966, Holland Herald has been around for over half a century and holds the remarkable distinction of being the oldest inflight magazine in the world. There had to be a history angle! 😉

So without further ado, here it is – my article about the city I once called home. Kindly note, that the pictures in the article are not mine.

A white peacock dances in all its ethereal glory. Sadhus (holy men) in their flowing, orange robes float across the screen. Beyoncé is dressed in resplendent Indian (more like Bollywood) attire. This is the opening sequence of Coldplay’s ‘Hymn for the Weekend’ video, filmed at the imposing Vasai Fort, on the outskirts of Mumbai (Bombay), India.

Entry to the Gonsalo Garcia Dominican Church, established in 1583. This one of the 7 churches in the Vasai Fort complex.

My fascination with Vasai Fort goes back a long way. I spent my childhood and early adult years, not too far from this magnificent edifice but it is only more recently that I began digging into its history. Here’s my attempt at crunching 500 years of its history into a quick read.

After 11 perilous months at sea, Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama landed on the shores of Calicut in southwest India on 20th May 1498, thus pioneering the highly sought after sea route to India. But even before this momentous discovery, the city of Vasai (on the west coast of India, to the north of Calicut and Bombay) was a thriving port, frequented by traders from the Middle East and Europe, including the famous Venetian merchant, Marco Polo.

Early navigational maps, like the India Orientalis (1579) by Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius, mention Baçaim (the Portuguese name for Vasai). Such was its prominence in those days.

On 23rd December 1534, the city of Vasai was ceded by its then ruler Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat to the Portuguese. The Portuguese went on to build a massive fort, Fortaleza de São Sebastião de Baçaim (Fort of St. Sebastian of Vasai), with an entire town enveloped within the fort walls. Vasai Fort served as the capital of the powerful northern Portuguese province (Corte da Norte) and until it was lost to the Marathas in 1739. After multiple battles between the Marathas and the British for control of the fort and surrounding areas, they came to a mutually convenient arrangement in 1802. The British however, preferred the neighbouring island of Mombaim (Bombay), which became a key centre for the East India Company; and in due course, Vasai lost its significance. Presently, the fort is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India.

The inside view of one section of Vasai Fort

On our recent visit to Vasai Fort, we only had a couple to hours to spare. This was barely enough time to walk through even one small section of this 110-acre fort complex. But even in this very short span of time, it was not hard to imagine the grandeur of the fort in its hey days.

An art student sketches a part of the Vasai Fort

So if you happen to be in Mumbai and are looking to do a fun day trip, consider the Vasai Fort. Best visited via a tour company. If you are local, you know how to get here.

I leave you with some of my pictures taken in and around the fort.

The Church of Our Lady of Life (Nossa Senhora da Vida), established in 1536

A grazing cow accompanied by a Cattle Egret, walks around the fort

An uncommon sighting of a Bengal monitor lizard at the fort

A Rose-ringed Parakeet enjoys the morning sun

A golawala (‘gola’ means ball, ‘wala’ means seller) readies his cart for business, outside the fort. He sells shaved ice balls, served in a variety of flavours.

A local friend shares the front seat with the rickshaw driver, on the ride from Vasai Railway Station to the fort

One of the first forest reserves established in Singapore (1883), the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, is the largest remaining tract of primary rainforest on the island. It was closed to the public for two years for some much-needed restoration work and reopened on 22nd October ’16.

Overjoyed to be back in this thriving rainforest, I wrote a quick piece for the Jan-Feb’17 issue of PASSAGE, the bi-monthly magazine of the Friends of the Museums Singapore. Presenting my first article in print for 2017…..

I cannot emphasise this enough – when visiting any nature reserve/park, please be extremely respectful of the environment. Loud chatting or music will disturb creatures and ruin any chance of spotting them. Going off-trail to get a picture damages the very ecosystem that nurtures these species. As the old adage goes…

The word ‘empire’ evokes different reactions from different people, especially among those from the erstwhile colonies. So when I first heard of the ‘Artist and Empire’ exhibition at the National Gallery of Singapore, I had mixed feelings about the concept. However, the exhibition focusses solely on the art that originated from Britain and its colonies (16th century to date), and I’m too much of an art lover to miss the masterpieces that came in via this association with the Tate Britain, London.

My political opinions aside, here are some of my favourites from the exhibition. As you can well imagine, there is some sort of personal link, either to the artist or the subject.

Paintings by Victorian botanical artist, Marianne North

I first heard of Marianne North during my time in the Seychelles this year.

A trailblazer in her own right, Marianne defied societal norms prevalent in the late 1800s for women, and travelled (mostly alone) to 17 countries in six continents, including the Seychelles, India and Singapore.

A self-taught artist, she painted 848 pieces of flora and fauna between 1871 and 1885; of which 833 are on permanent exhibit at the Marianne North Gallery in Kew Gardens, England. Among the 46/47 paintings Marianne painted in the Seychelles, there are several versions of the fabled Coco de Mer.

Five of her paintings from Asia are currently on display at this exhibition.

This artwork depicts Dr. William Brydon, assistant surgeon in the Bengal Army, arriving at the gates of Jalalabad (in modern day Afghanistan) on a dying horse, in January 1842. At the time, Brydon was believed to be the lone survivor of the First Anglo-Afghan War, which saw the massacre of thousands of British soldiers and the subsequent British retreat from Kabul.

Painted in 1879, in the midst of the Second Anglo-Afghan War, this artwork is believed to depict Lady Butler’s feelings about the futility of the war in Afghanistan.

About the Afghan Church in Mumbai: Consecrated in 1858, this church was built by the British to commemorate the deceased from the First Anglo-Afghan War, most of whom came from the East India Company’s Bombay Army. This Anglican Church is one of the most beautiful and serene churches in the city.

‘General Gordon’s Last Stand’ by George William Joy (1893)

Another Seychelles connection! Even today, the Vallee de Mai on Praslin island in the Seychelles, is rumoured to be the site of the biblical Garden of Eden and this myth originates from General Gordon’s remarks during his visit to the valley in 1881.

This painting depicts General Gordon as the quintessential hero, defending the city of Khartoum against its invaders. In reality, this would have been the scene, moments before his death and subsequent beheading.

‘The Jester’ by Sir Gerald Kelly (1911)

A portrait of British playwright, novelist and short story writer, Somerset Maugham, the title of the painting refers to the writer’s famous wit. Maugham is not forgotten here in Singapore, thanks to a suite named after him at the legendary Raffles Hotel.

Maugham made three visits to Singapore between 1921 and 1925 and gathered material for his short stories collection, ‘The Casurina Tree’, set in 1920s Malaya. A regular guest of the Raffles Hotel, the suite named after him at the hotel, is the one in which he stayed during his last visit in 1960.

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Among the 211 exhibits on display, there are also a significant number of artworks from the former colonies, from South Asia to the Oceania region.

So if you are visiting Singapore before 26th March 2017, I highly recommend a dekko*